Shashank N.D. dropped out of college to build Practo, back when dropping out just meant you couldn’t get a job. No business family. Both parents in government service. When everyone around him said “do an MBA first, you can always start a company later,” he flipped the logic: you can always get a job later, but right now I have the least baggage I’ll ever have. So he stayed in, bootstrapped Practo, and sold software to doctors one month at a time, often unable to afford even an ice cream. In this episode of Unstarted, Shashank sits down with Avneesh, who has known him for 13 years and backed Practo through its highs and near-death lows. They talk about the story behind the story. Building Practo for his father, who had been through 7-8 surgeries. Finding product-market fit purely through doctor referrals. The frameworks that held the team together for 18 years. The brutal years when doctors burned his billboards and FIRs were filed for the crime of rating doctors. Why COVID turned Practo from a pariava into the industry. And the mindset that kept him going: fall in love with the problem, and measure impact, not valuation. If you’re building, or still unstarted, this one is full of hard-won lessons on conviction, co-founders, culture, surviving crises, and playing a decades-long game.